James s



UNITED S15-.Arras- PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES S. ASMITH, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 272,491, dated February 20, 1883.

"i Application inea october a1, lass. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES S. SMi'lH, of Middletown, Middlesexcounty,in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Buttons, of which the following is a specification.Y

My improved button is of the class in which the attachment to the garment is effected by passing the needle and thread many times out and in through the button; but, instead of passing the thread up through one holeand down through another, I effect the fastening -by passing the thread up and down or out and The following is a description of what I con sider the best means of carrying out the invention.

The'accompanying drawings form a part of this specitcation. g

Figure l is a face view; Fig. 2, a cross-se@- tion, and Fig. 3 a section on the line S S in Fig. 2. The above gnres show the button after the cross-bars have been inserted and before they have been bent. Fig.4 shows the die by which the bending of the` cross-bars is effected. Fig. 5 is a cross-section through the completedbutton. Theremainingfiguresshow modifications. Fig. 6 shows the button formed witbout'an eyelet and having the vcross-bars introduced near the face of the button. Fig.

,7 is av face view, and Fig. 8 a cross-section showing a modification in which there are two holes. Fig. 9 is a faceview of a modification, showing'only one cross-bar.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur.

A is the body of a button, produced b y hand or machinery inthe form of an annulus or flat ring, with a small-sized hole, a, in the center. Any fine-grained wood may be' employed with the grain running in any direction. I prefer maple with the grain running in the plane of the button.

B is an eyelet, of brass or other suitable material, inserted in the hole a, and iianged so as to be retained in the button in the ordinary manner. The hole a is preferably formed with a proper enlargement on each face of the button to receive the flanges of the eyelet B and give a iush surface.

lI insert in or near the middle of the thickness of the button two lengths, D, of brass wire, at right angles to each other. They are inserted only a little out of the same plane. Each extends from near oneedge of' A radially inward to and across the eyelet B, and thence extends onward through the body A again nearly but not quite to the opposite edge. The

holes to receive these wires are previously bored by adrill inserted from one edge, taking t care to use a tool which can' drill both the wood The Wires are forced in from and the brass. the ledge, and should lill the hole so tightly that it requires some force,by hand or by machinery, to drive them home. I then, by a suitable die, M, inserted from what is to be the outer face of the button, bend downward the wires D where they extend across the hole a.

The female die N should be of such form as to enter the hole a from the back face of the button and support the cross-bars or cross-,wires D at the edge of the hole a, thus relieving'the wood from stra-in and allowing the bend to be formed in the middle portion only. This gives each wire D a crimp or bend, D', which prevents its ever working out under any circumstances, and also allows the thread by which the button i-sto be held to be better sunk and concealed in the body of the button. The act of beqnding the cross-bars D tendsto draw inward the ends thereof, so that there is a little vacancy left at each end. ,This insures that the ends of the cross-bars are'eifectually protected and concealed within the body of the button. The buttons thus prepared are immersed in suitable varnish and baked. The

varnish fills any vacant space remainingin theholes in which the crossbars D were inserted. lt also strengthens the body of the wood and strongly cements the cross-bars to the wood.

material, generally termed japan 7 or enamel,7 which forms a finish for theexterior and ills the holes through which the crossbars had previously been inserted.

The improved button is attached to a coat or other garment in the obvious manner, the needle and thread being passedup and down through the hole a, so as to bridge across over the portion D of the cross-bars, in the same manner as the threads ordinarily hold buttons by bridging across over a portion of the body of the button. v

Modifications may be made in many ofthe details without departing from the principle or sacriticing the advantages of the invention. I can dispense with the eyelet B, and by inserting thc wires D D in the wooden annulus A alone, andjapanning, make a very satisfactory button, which can be sold at a small price. This construction is shown in Fig. 6. I can dispense with the form of die N shown and leave the cross-bars D unsupported, except by the wood A, when the die M comes down to eft'ect the bending. I can dispense with the bend D and allow each wire to stand straight inthe button. Instead ofinserting the cross-bars in the middle ofthe thickness,Ic-an set them nearer the front face ofthe button, and thus take hold of a greater thickness of the wood to resist the force tending to rend the cross-bars away from the but- I esteem it a great advantage in my button that the body A is in a single piece, and that the cross bar or bars D are inserted by a thrusting force from the edge. There is nothingtending to force out the cross bar or bars. My experiments indicate that there is little risk of looseness when they are fitted with proper tightness, even without the japanning or the bending.

I claim as my invention- 1. That improved method otformingan attaching eye or loop t'o a solid button which consists in making a transverse perforation into the body ot' the button, which shall intersect the central opening, and inserting a cross-bar therein, then bending the cross-bar downward in the central opening to form a loop or eye, all substantially as set forth.

2. The hotly A, formed of a single piece, having a central hole, a, anda transverse hole or holes made from the circumference, in combination with one or more cross-hars, D, the latter being supported in the transverse hole or holes and extending across the hole a, as herein set forth.

3. A button composed of a body, A, having a hole, a., an eyelet, B, and one or more crossbars, D D', as herein specified.

4. A button composed ot' Ka wood body, A, having a hole, a, eyelet I5, two cross-hars, D, each heilt as indicated at D', and japanned or enameled, as herein specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Middletown, Connecticut, this 18th day of October, 1882, in the presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES S. SMITH.

\Vitnesses:

ELIHU W. N. STARR., SAMUEL T. CAMP. 

